The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 518 - 223 Pacers, Is This What You Call Rebuilding a Team?!_4

Chapter 518: Chapter 223 Pacers, Is This What You Call Rebuilding a Team?!_4

Initially, Shaquille O’Neal wanted to say, "I’ll help you deal with Kevin Garnett and Perkins."

But Su Wan had hung up on him twice, making him realize just how much Su Wan detested him.

He believed that if he had said that, Su Wan would immediately respond with, "I don’t need it!"

And then hang up right away.

So, he changed his approach.

Since he had decided to play the villain, why bother with a facade?

Throw it out!

Shaquille lowered his stance and shared his predicament.

Su Wan asked, "Why should I help you?"

Shaquille O’Neal said, "Think about it, Su. LeBron couldn’t lead me to a championship, yet I took him to the Eastern Conference Finals! But you led me to a championship. Doesn’t that put LeBron down again? When that happens, the Cleveland media will probably regret it even more!"

O’Neal had precisely grasped what Su Wan was thinking.

He had two main passions:

To win championships surpassing Michael Jordan and to "slap the face" of Cleveland.

O’Neal’s proposal thus seemed to Su Wan like something worth trying.

He also learned about Shaquille O’Neal’s amnesty, and now he understood the reason for the amnesty.

Honestly, it felt quite refreshing.

He softened up.

Shaquille O’Neal hurriedly went to find Larry Bird with great joy.

Upon hearing Su Wan had softened, "Big Bird" also breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He was well aware that if Shaquille O’Neal was willing to join the team, it would be a significant boost.

As they discussed the details of the contract, "Big Bird" still had an unused "mid-level exception" worth about three million dollars. Although Shaquille initially thought of taking a veteran minimum contract, hearing that "Big Bird" was willing to offer a "mid-level exception" moved him deeply.

He knew Bird was doing this to save his face as much as possible.

After all, he was a future "President Mountain" player.

To go this far for a championship ring truly made one sigh.

But everyone knew that if he didn’t win this championship now, his standing might even be lower than Kobe’s in the future, which he could not allow!

The contract was finalized, but it could not be made public until July 1.

However, since Shaquille’s joining was a foregone conclusion, Larry Bird now had to make changes to the team’s roster.

Zach Randolph and Shaquille O’Neal...

The addition of these two players meant that the team’s play style was about to change.

And with the Celtics and Lakers being the top two powers in the league at the moment,

the Pacers had to aim to restrict them if they wanted to clinch the championship.

With the "small lineup" defensive quality definitely not living up to standards, the Pacers’ play style for the new season must transform into "position warfare."

That meant a quality point guard was indispensable!

Bird glanced at the team’s roster for players who could be used as bargaining chips in a trade.

First up was Diaw.

He was better at playing "fast-paced basketball," and in the upcoming season’s system for the Pacers, he wouldn’t have a chance to perform.

Then there was Foster...

With Shaquille O’Neal, Zach Randolph, and the soon-to-arrive cheaper Marc Gasol, they could all replace Foster’s role.

Others, including Millsap, could also be put on the trading block.

Of course, he would still need to call Su Wan before these movements to inform him.

Su Wan expressed understanding.

The so-called "Dynasty syndrome" fundamentally spoke to either a deformed roster or the roster’s severely aged average.

Under such circumstances, trading was inevitable!

No one could win a championship with an old, deformed roster, not even Michael Jordan could do it, didn’t Oakley walk away just like that?

Su Wan naturally felt the same.

And forcibly keeping so many centers meant none of them had enough playtime, which eventually would harm these players sitting on the bench as their contracts expired.

They weren’t young anymore, and sitting until death on the cold bench would lead to only one result:

A significant reduction in contract renewal terms!

It was better to let them go to other teams to become key players and secure big contracts.

Look at Calderon; although the Raptors’ performance didn’t change significantly with his arrival, his stats from last season showed 14.3 points and 6.7 assists per game, plus his efficiency was almost good enough for the "180 Club," along with championship experience, he surely deserved at least an eight million dollar contract.

Since the Pacers already had Zach Randolph, and now with Shaquille O’Neal joining, the new season’s play style for them would inevitably focus on positional offense, making the point guard position crucial.

Su Wan’s field vision had reached first-rate in the league, but his passing ability was still lacking.

Moreover, organizing the team’s movement could inevitably affect his focus on the offensive end.

Thus, Su Wan could guess what Larry Bird’s next move would be—using the surplus of inner strength to trade for a reliable point guard.

And it turned out just as Su Wan had expected.

The next day, the 2008 draft proceeded as scheduled.

With a very low probability, the Chicago Bulls, thrilled, selected Derek Rose.

Hmm...

If Rose hadn’t been born in Chicago, Su Wan would really believe that it was just luck that landed the Bulls that draft spot.

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